Palm Sunday Year B - Lectionary 2 - The Way of the Cross: Humbly Giving

The Way of the Cross: Giving Humbly

Palm Sunday B – NL 2

March 24, 2024

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

Mark 11.1-11; 14.3-11

I recently finished binge-watching the Netflix series, “The Crown,” by which I mean 1-2 episodes an evening. “The Crown” chronicles the life and reign of Queen Elizabth II from her ascension to the throne as a young woman upon the death of her father, King George VI. It takes us through to her death, though it skips several years beforehand. I’m not sure I liked the series as much as I found it interesting. I also wonder how accurate it is, how they could have known about the intimate dialogue portrayed. Even so, much like our wonderings about similar things in the Bible, I choose to focus on the truths being expressed.

One thing that emerged from watching “The Crown” was a realization that the “characters” were and are very complicated people. Sometimes they behaved clueless and arrogant but at other times principled and noble. You wanted to throttle and admire them, often at the same time. But the main point I saw was the expectations placed on the royals in general and “The Crown” in particular. These expectations were traditional, personal, and from the public, Mostly, there was a constant tension between what the Queen thought should be done and what others thought she should do.

I think expectations are at the forefront of today’s readings, the one we just heard and the other we’ll hear at the end of the service, the anointing of Jesus by an unnamed woman. Like “The Crown,” which often recounts past events as it deals with the current story, today we zip back in time a few days to hear about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in order to consider where we are and where we are going. In Mark’s version of the entry into Jerusalem, Jesus is very low-key and, after his initial instructions, doesn’t say anything. As one observer noted, Jesus exhibits “authoritative or dignified lowliness.” He’s the strong, silent type.

Some historians have postulated that this would have been in stark contrast to the entry of the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, who would have come from a different direction. Pilate would have been riding on a warhorse with a contingent of soldiers. They would come every year in this way as a show of force to keep the multitude of Passover pilgrims in line. As events unfold, it will become apparent that there are some of those pilgrims who expect that Jesus will become that same kind of warrior king, just like his ancestor David, who will kick out the Romans. He will not meet these expectations. As former Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson often observed, “unfulfilled expectations are resentments in waiting.” Come Good Friday, there will be many resentments.

In a few minutes, we’ll hear the story of a woman who bears the brunt of unfilled expectations and subsequent resentments. All this because she is criticized for an extreme act of love. We’ve placed this story at the end of worship to give us a springboard into Holy Week of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. It takes place at the home of Simon, interestingly named, and is presumably a former leper and outcast. The unnamed woman anoints Jesus, a sacramental act that acknowledges that he is set apart by God for a purpose. When she is chastised for the extravagance, worth a year’s pay, Jesus defends her actions. Not only has she anointed him for burial, but she will also be remembered for what she has done.

Today is our sixth stop on the journey we began on Ash Wednesday, “The Way of the Cross.” It’s been a literal walk as we’ve joined Jesus as he turned his face toward Jerusalem. It’s also been a spiritual journey as we have explored what it means to follow Jesus in the way of the cross. We’ve heard that following Jesus involves denying ourselves and taking up our cross, that something has to die in us so that we might have the abundant life God offers us. Today, life is to be found in humbly giving. We are invited to be like Jesus who humbly offers himself and like the woman who does the same.

To go deeper into the way of the cross, I invited folk this past Wednesday into the Jewish spiritual practice of mitzvah. In its strictest terms, mitzvah means obeying a commandment, of which there are many. But in practice it can also mean doing a good deed for someone without anybody knowing it. So, to practice humbly giving, I’m encouraging you to do the same sometime in the next week. Maybe you could send a note of encouragement to someone without signing it, make a donation anonymously, or just pick up trash. The possibilities are endless.

Meanwhile, today we experience the tension between the joyful entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the sobering realization that he entered Jerusalem to humbly offer himself to die. The closing Scripture and our subsequent silent exit from the sanctuary will heighten the tension and undoubtedly feel a little awkward. That’s intentional. So, I hope you will continue this journey to the Last Supper and stripping of the altar on Maundy Thursday and the seven last words of Jesus as he is crucified on Good Friday. It’s the unexpected but necessary Way of the Cross. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.